


The Rabbit in the Moon

by GemmaRose



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Gen, and shooting starts grant wishes, and the servants just wanna go down to earth, in which the little man in the moon isnt quite a man
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-23
Updated: 2013-07-24
Packaged: 2017-12-21 02:20:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/894658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GemmaRose/pseuds/GemmaRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>We all know that in the movie and book canon, it is the Man in the Moon, but some cultures on Earth (most notably Japan) look at the moon and see a rabbit, not a smiling face. So what if MiM either WAS a Pooka or had a Pooka companion? How would Bunny react?</p><p>de-anon from rotg-kink</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Acai wiped her forehead, frowning at the small circular pan. The batter just wouldn't set right in the lowered gravity of their damaged ship no matter how much she altered the recipe, and the Tsar so badly wanted a proper cake for his some-billionth birthday. She and her sisters had long ago given up on trying to remind the young Lunanoff that Earth's years were not the same as the years on his homeworld, but he wanted cake for his 8th birthday, and so cake he would have. Just as soon as she could get this damn batter to cooperate.

"Anise!" she called over her shoulder. "If you won't tell me how you do it, could you make the stupid cake yourself?"

The eldest Pooka laughed, green-grey eyes twinkling like little stars beneath the creamy curled bangs of her human form. "You're still trying to figure it out?"

Acai groaned. "I can make the frosting, but we need something to put it on." she growled.

Anise laughed and flounced over, her baking gloves only barely stained with the colours she'd been mixing. Acai's cinnamon fur was covered in flour up to the elbow, and she didn't even want to know how much was on her face. "Please?" she groaned. "I'll take your place on dish duty tomorrow."

Anise laughed and dipped a finger in the batter, dabbing it on the shorter doe's nose. "Go groom yourself, and see if you can't get Aralia to pull herself away from that garden for a minute and help us."

Acai nodded and strode from the kitchen as her younger sister began rummaging through the many racks and shelves in search of her secret ingredients. Aralia would be in the observatory at this time of cycle, since the Tsar was asleep. Probably scribbling in one of her innumerable notebooks. But Acai checked the gardens and orchard anyways, tutting at the mess of trowels and seed packets her eldest sibling had left behind.

Sure as sure, when she poked her head into the observatory she saw her sister silhouetted against the starry sky. "Aralia. Anise and I need your help in the kitchen, or it'll be nothing but sweets."

The doe startled at the sound of her sister's voice, knocking the gigantic telescope askew and nearly falling out of her seat. "Acai, don't startle me like that!" the fawn-coated Pooka groused, setting the telescope to rights as she stood. "And you can't make normal food on your own anymore?"

The doe shrugged, grabbing her sister by the ear which wasn't burnt. "Well I can, but not as fast as you and I can if we work together. I can't believe you thought this cycle was a good one for earth-gazing."

The elder Pooka straightened up and cuffed her sister between the ears. "  
I was watching this thing called Prom. Some of the dresses were exceptionally beautiful."

Acai rolled her eyes and batted at her sister's ruff with floury paws. "c'mon, I'll groom as we walk. We need at least five courses by lights-up."

Aralia sighed dramatically and tucked her notebook into the first bookshelf they passed, setting to the task of grooming flour from the poofy fur by her neck.

\-----

Lgihts-up came quickly, and Anise insisted that her sisters bring out the main courses while she finished icing the cake. It was a monster, big enough to feed an entire human family plus a Pooka or two. And of course the Tsar would let each of them take an ocean slice and then proceed to eat the rest himself while the ship's other residents had their fruit salads. The young Lunanoff's appetite never ceased to amaze her.

Lunar Moths and Glow-worms lined the long table, one species to each side, and Tsar Lunar III sat at the head with a wide smile. He chattered quickly with his favourite companions, and they chattered back in a language Acai had never bothered to learn. Aralia anounced each dish as Acai set platters on the silk-draped tables. She'd never seen them bare, but one of the little janitor-bots had been programmed to include High Pookan and had told her it was carved of a single slab of wood, the Life Tree of a planet which orbited a dying star.

Aralia took two of the carts, and as Acai followed her back to the kitchens she morphed back into her natural form. "I hate those dresses." she grumbled, loading up a cart with more lidded platters. "All dark colours with no life at all. And I keep stepping on the edges."

Aralia rolled her eyes, jabbing her sister in the side. "You never had a problem wearing that one skirt back home."

Acai blushed, pausing to morph human again as they left the servants' area. "That was shorter, and I made it myself." she paused, thinking for a minute. "And I wasn't shaped like a Constellation."

Aralia nodded absently as she collected the dirty dishes, but waited to speak until they were back in the hall. "I keep saying you should practice more. Try playing around with the clothing." her dress morphed quickly into an immaculate navy blue suit, then a flowing bronze gown, then back to her dun green maid's dress.

Acai sighed heavily. "I just don't like my Constellation form. Why can't I just be myself all the time? I don't get it."

Aralia churred and rested an ear against her sister's. "The Tsar is young yet. He will see reason, but we must give him time."

Acai wrinkled her nose, growing a good few feet as she shed her ugly blue clothing for a thick, shiny coat of cinnamon-coloured fur. "I wish he'd grow up faster."

Aralia laughed and elbowed the younger doe. "If a Shooting Star passes us, I'd say that's a worthy wish to make."

Acai laughed, and they spent the rest of the evening in companionable silence. The cake was delicious, and when the Tsar wandered off to his observatory Acai headed for her nest-room. The porthole was small, but through its thick glass she was afforded a sight of Earth's southern half. Australia's desert stretched out in front of her eyes, golden lights shimmering along the coast, and the doe thunked her head against the sill dispassionately.

"I wish I could live down there.she muttered, watching a tiny dot of gold move across the dark centre of the island. Probably an airship, a cruiser loaded with high-class patrons dripping in valuable jewels and metals. She tried to picture her mother and father amongst them, clad in the beautiful earth tones of their clan, sitting at the side of the dance floor and playing a waltz. Her father on the flute, her mother on the cello. Or was it a bass? She could no longer remember.

Flopping down in her nest, the doe pulled her nesting blanket over herself and closed her eyes. Maybe tonight she'd get lucky, and a shooting star would give her sweet dreams.


	2. Chapter 2

Acai's process of waking up was a slow one, involving opening her eyes blearily and laying in a half-doze for several minutes before actually stirring. It wasn't until she sat up and blinked her eyes into focus that she realised something was wrong. She felt heavy, and not in the just-waking-up way. Had Aspen finally figured out how to fix the gravity generator to standard? She made to roll out of bed, and that was when she registered that she wasn't in her room. The walls were curved in an ovoid, an egg if she wasn't mistaken, and she had been curled in the middle of the floor. There was a Pookan style chair, and a small lamp, and the walls' paneling bore the circular script she'd never bothered to learn. Her parents had never bothered making them learn every written dialect, though Acai was sure if she tried she could still speak the four main dialects aside from the one she used with her siblings.

Standing cautiously, she took a moment to catch her balance in the new gravity and walked over to the nearest wide panel. It was smooth to the touch, varnished dark with a few characters along the bottom carved through to reveal the natural pale grain. A handle was situated just below the words, and she pulled up on it without hesitation. If anything this was a dream, though why she would dream in characters she couldn't understand, the doe didn't know. The shelves behind the panel were filled with books, and she exhaled slowly as she ran her fingers down a worn spine. Real books, with pages and covers she could touch without fear. A handful of the titles were in the one script she knew, and after a moment of reaching she managed to pull one from its spot.

The cover was wood which had been dyed a deep red, and the title was embossed in silver letters. "Nursery Rhymes, Fairy Tales, and Lullabies of the Second Age." she smiled, tracing the familiar lines. If she remembered this when she woke up, she'd be humming for two or three cycles. Padding over to the chair, she tucked her legs up and began to read. The characters were uniform and crisp, so unlike her sisters' hasty scrawls in charcoal pencil. She'd just reached her favourite part in The Ballad of Lavandula when she heard a door open and close. That was odd, usually in her dreams she knew when somebody was going to come in. Also, they usually waited until she'd reached a stopping point in whatever she'd been doing.

"Who tha hell are you?"

She looked up, ears tilting back slightly. "Who are you?" she fired back easily. "This is my dream."

The male Pooka shook his head, walking towards her and plucking the book from her paws. "No, it's not." he frowned. "Yer in _my_ Warren, and as much as it's a joy ta have you here, I'd rather like ta know how ya got in."

Acai shrugged, standing and brushing down her coat out of habit. "Woke up in here." she shrugged. "You know, usually my dreams are a lot nicer than you." she looked him up and down, taking in his lean muscles and stern face. "And cuter, to boot."

The buck huffed, fur standing on end, and she giggled. "No offense. I mean, you're hot, Aralia'd be all over you in half a hearts' beat, but you're really not my type." she shook her head, still grinning. "I can't believe I'm apologising to my own subconscious."

The buck looked absolutely floored. "You're not tha only one?"

Acai shook her head. "Nope. There's Aralia and Anise and Aspen. Sometimes I think I'd kill to get some proper privacy. I mean, living in space is nice and all but it gets cramped after the first few millennia."

"Space?" he repeated dumbly.

"Yeah. Space. Ya know, the Moonclipper?" she gestured at the ceiling. "Usually my dreams aren't this dense. What's your name? I'm gonna try and make you smarter next cycle."

"Eremos Aster Bunnymund." he answered automatically. "The Moonclipper? Are you sure?"

Acai rolled her eyes. Typical. "Acai Commelinid Paludina, and yes I'm sure I've been stuck there with the slowest-aging Constellation I've ever had the displeasure of kno-"

Her rant about the Tsar was cut short by Aster's arm wrapping around her in a tight hug. "I thought I was the last." he whispered, shoulders shaking. "I _was_ the last." he held her at arms' length, looking her briefly up and down before looking her in the eye. "If you want, I could arrange to bring your siblings down here. I have a friend, the Sandman."

Acai nodded absently. She'd been the last female in her dreams before, but the buck in those dreams was always buff and 100% her type. Also they usually only happened when she was in heat, which wasn't for many cycles. "Sure, sure." she nodded.

The buck's face fell. "You still think this is a dream, don't ya?"

She nodded. "The Tsar would never let us come down to the planet, even if there was a way."

The buck made a thinking face, and after a moment nodded to himself. "Right, yer comin' with me to tha Pole. There's some explaining to do."

Acai nodded, absently grooming her ears. "Sure thing, Eremos."

The buck shivered once, and Acai walked past him. By the logic of dreams, their destination would be just through these doors. The buck followed her down the short tunnel, taking the lead when they entered a large place with plants of every description. "Oh, what Anise wouldn't give to have this much growing space." she muttered, trailing her hand along the bark of an unfamiliar tree. The buck chuckled and gently took her wrist, leading her between flowers which served no purpose at all and grew outside of the neatly tended beds. If Anise had been here, her sister would've been all but hyperventilating.

"This'll take us as close to the Workshop as I can manage." he said with a kind smile, eyes fixed on her face. "Ladies first."

She blushed and looked at the tunnel mouth. "Isn't it, um, a bit short?"

The buck gave her a confused look. "It's for running in."

She shook her head. "I haven't run in eons. Not sure I even know how anymore."

Some strange emotion swept across the buck's eyes, and Acai's mortified blush began to fade as he got down into a running stance. "Just do what I'm doing. No lack of running space between here an' North's place."

Acai grinned and lowered herself into a starting crouch, trying to recall the last time she'd been able to really _run_. It had been before the Moonclipper was stranded here, back when the Tsar's parents were alive and she still saw Pooka besides her siblings when they docked. Her first few steps were awkward, hesitant and off-rhythm, but by the time she'd gone three metres she'd settled into an easy gait. The tunnel stretched straight ahead of her, just a little more than two shoulder-widths wide, and she grinned. She'd not had a peaceful running dream since Nightlight left. "Race ya!" she called over her shoulder as she shot forward, stretching muscles unused for millennia. In her dreams she never lost, but it was always a close win. And why would she pass up such a perfect opportunity to trounce a self-important buck, even if it was all just in her head?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I know most people would write Bunny immediately freaking out about there being more Pookas in the universe, but c'mon. He may be a hothead, but he's a prideful hothead. He's saving the meltdown/freakout for when there's nobody around to witness it. Especially the potential mate. Meeting the Guardians and talking to Manny will be next chapter, and that'll be a blast and a half.

**Author's Note:**

> To be clear, these Pookas are all blood relatives, and their brother Aspen is somewhere in the ship as an engineer, maintaining the gravity and all the little janitor bots. (He did not program them, he just keeps them running, hence only a handful being programmed in Pookan) Acai is a fruit, Anise is a spice, and Aralia is a scientific name for something.


End file.
